Sign the Petition to

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York State Legislature

We urge you to oppose the $240 million dollar budget cut to the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) community based services. This 6% cut will directly impact non-profits and other agencies in the OPWDD system that provide essential services for people with severe developmental disabilities.

There are over 120,000 people in the state of New York that utilize these services in varying levels of need. For many, the non-profits funded by the OPWDD provide the only programs that help to ensure their health and safety.

Almost all OPWDD services are funded through Medicaid, as state dollars for these services are matched by federal dollars. For these programs, any cuts made by the state will be doubled, as the same amount will be lost in matching federal funds.

Please stand up for the hard workers of these programs and the disabled Americans who rely on them in New York. Do not pass the proposed budget cuts to the OPWDD.

Signed,

Kelly Lawrence Eurillo

This petition closed over 4 years ago

How this will help

"Our son, Matthew, now 30, has been diagnosed as bi-polar, with severe developmental delays.. he attends a Day Hab Program that continues to help him advance his speech, independence and...

"Our son, Matthew, now 30, has been diagnosed as bi-polar, with severe developmental delays.. he attends a Day Hab Program that continues to help him advance his speech, independence and socialization skills. These community based, structured OPWDD services programs have helped Matthew to flourish in our community, and is frankly the sole reason why we choose to remain in NYS." -Parents Dr. & Mrs. Marc Feldman

The OPWDD budget has already been cut by $350 million dollars in the past three years and additional cuts will force critical programs to close. These cuts will have widespread implications resulting in the loss of jobs and health services to the people in New York who need it most.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Ask for your legislators' help. Ask them to contact their leadership to urge them to oppose the 6% cut to OPWDD community based services. Tell them that the 6% cut is $120 million in State funding BUT because this is a cut to Medicaid, New York will lose an additional $120 million in Federal matching funds. Therefore the cut to OPWDD community based services is $240 million. Ask them to speak up on behalf of people who have a developmental disability.

Contact Governor Cuomo directly and let him know how these cuts will hurt our already vulnerable friends and family members with developmental disabilities. A link to contact Gov. Cuomo follows:

Please sign the petition below and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Use the links below to send this out via Facebook, Twitter and email to get this urgent message out to as many supporters as possible within the next two weeks.